Rockets notes: Making the most of it

Published 5:30 am, Friday, April 8, 2011

The Rockets could be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention by the time they take the floor against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night at Toyota Center.

The Grizzlies, who face the Kings tonight in Memphis, are one win from taking the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.

But after they were pushed to the brink of elimination with Wednesday's loss in New Orleans, the Rockets said they want to continue to chase wins through their final three games.

"We need to play the right way," forward Luis Scola said. "We can't control the playoffs, now more than ever.

"Even if we are mathematically eliminated or not, we just need to play hard, play the right way and finish the season on a high note."

Even before the Rockets' loss Wednesday, coach Rick Adelman indicated how they would approach the final games.

"We have to see how we want to finish the season as well as we can finish it," he said.

Miller steps up

Center Brad Miller, who did not play in seven of the previous eight Rockets games, played 17 minutes Wednesday, replacing Jordan Hill in the rotation to help direct the offense off the bench.

Miller had four points, three assists and eight rebounds in the loss at New Orleans.

"He (coach Rick Adelman) told me during the day he wanted me to facilitate with the second squad," Miller said. "The offense is based through the bigs for the most part. He wanted to put a little pep into it.

"The starters have been playing a lot of minutes. I wanted to try to give them a little help."

Williams out for year

Forward Terrence Williams, 23, who has played in just 11 games with the Rockets and has been inactive for the past eight because of complications following surgery for lower abdominal distress, will not be available for the final three games of the season.

After an examination Tuesday, Williams, 6-6, was told he would need to wait another seven to 10 days to be cleared to resume workouts.